Reviews by Joanna N.

Annemarie's family calls her "Shug"- for Sugar. Shug is a gifted student but she wishes a lot of things in her life were different. She wishes she were pretty and popular like her 16 year old sister, Celia. She wishes Mark, her oldest and dearest friend, would kiss her and realize she is special. She wishes her mother loved her more and didn't drink so much, and was more like their cozy neighbor, Mrs. Findley. She wishes her father didn't travel so much on business. She wishes she lived somewhere exotic, instead of in a small, unsophisticated southern town. The common hopes and heartaches of a twelve year old girl are made vivid and memorable because the story is told uncommonly well. Recommended especially for girls 6th grade and up.

Ida B. loves exuberantly everything
about her life -- especially her parents
and her beautiful apple orchard where
she has given all the trees names. When
her mother becomes ill, Ida B.'s spirit
is almost crushed, but she finds ways to
triumph. It's easy to care about Ida B.
For boys and girls grades 4 and up.

In 1942, the Japanese navy invaded the
Aleutian Islands. As a consequence, the
Aleuts, inhabitants of these islands for
nine thousand years, were evacuated by
our government to densely forested
inland Alaska. Karen Hesse, who is so
versatile, writes a very short, poetic,
beautiful novel about one girl and her
longing for her lost sea island and way
of life. A part of history I knew very
little about.

A rugged, exciting story of 15 year old
Jason who joins the chaos and danger of
the 1897 Gold Rush to Alaska. Jason's
character enables him to survive and in
the course of the story I grew to admire
him greatly. Author Jack London makes an
appearance. Finally, I was surprised to
learn the sad truth about the Gold Rush!
For boys and girls grades 5 and up.

Rusty, a young, restless house cat, is persuaded to join the Thunderclan where he hopes to become a Warrior. Thunderclan cats live wild in the forest, which is populated with many clans of cats. Their fierce lives are governed by ancient codes of honor. A fantasy about friendships, betrayals, and challenges, recommended especially for boys, grades 7 and up.

Christian, who ran away from home at age 6, has been raised ever since by Edric the troll. Their home is a cave studded with multi-colored crystals, beautiful but rather isolated. Christian has no human companions. With a telescope, Christian starts watching life at the castle across the river, where four little princessess live. One princess in particular catches his attention. He notices, over the years, that in spite of her beauty, almost nobody ever touches her! Watching her makes him feel as if his life is missing something. He finds a way to send her a message and the rest is, not history, but a delightful, funny fairy tale with very flesh-and-blood characters. Highly recommended for boys and girls 5th grade and up.

Two young orphans, one of whom is a
witch, are sent to live at the castle of
the splendid, enigmatic and somehow
terrifying "Chrestomanci." "Cat," the
younger orphan, just hopes to survive it
all, but when the story ends he finds he
has more power than he realized. Fun
adventures in a world filled with
witches, warlocks and necromancers. For
boys and girls 5th grade and up.

Colt is so glad he can take his twenty pound much loved Maine coon cat, Smoke, with him when he has to move with his divorced mother from Idaho to California. At first, he is sad and misses Idaho and his friends there. This is a cheerful, well written family story with lots of happy outcomes. Colt's divorced parents like each other and love Colt. In California, Colt learns to play soccer and makes new friends. One night Smoke goes out and doesn't come home. Colt has to learn to be brave and hopeful and to make one dangerous decision all by himself. Recommended for grades 4 and up.

Margaret Rose Kane is rescued from
overnight camp and spends the rest of
vacation with beloved "Old World" Uncles
Alex and Morris, who have spent 45 years
building three huge towers constructed
of scrap metal, pieces of colored glass,
porcelain fragments and clock parts
which make the towers "sing in the
wind." Konigsburg creates this family
with such a sure hand that the
characters leap out of the pages, and
when the eccentric uncles and their
beautiful towers are threatened, I felt
ready to do battle with Margaret Rose to
save them. For grades 5 and up.

"Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who is the fairest one of all?" Not Aza, who lives in the magical kingdom of Ayortha, and is so unsightly that people stare at her. Mostly, she keeps her hand before her face, but her name means "lark," and she is able to sing most gloriously. In spite of this gift, Aza is consumed by a longing to be beautiful. When the opportunity arrives, perhaps the price of beauty will be too high? A novel with humor, danger and intrigue. Aza is such a real girl in the midst of the powerful magical forces of a fairy tale. Especially for girls 6th grade and up.